Phantom Codewalker
by Ajora
Summary: The Kaiser swore he would never be defeated... and just in the event that he was, he set up a special safeguard. During the quest to protect the Holy Stones from Black Wargreymon, Ken accidently activates it and finds himself suffering the Kaiser's wrath.
1. Tablet I - Sadistic Desire

Phantom Codewalker  
Tablet I - Sadistic Desire  
by Ajora Fravashi  


*Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon. Toei/Bandai does.  
*Kaiken (Kaiser/Ken). Rape. Yaoi. Violence... at least in this chapter. For the gods' sake don't ask. Just wanted to see if this could even be pulled off.  
*A codewalker, in hacker terms, is a program component that exists to traverse other programs. 

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_What is the true nature of the Digital World? Is it really a modernized spirit world as Mr. Takenouchi had suggested? Does it operate under its own natural laws, or is the world really a shell program on some computer?_

_I used to know these things,_ Ken thought to himself as he looked up into the Digital World program code scrawled upon the walls of a ziggurat-like complex. _I used to be able to read this. Why can't I now?_

He strolled down a torch-lit corridor, breathing in the dry, dead air as he glanced around. Somehow the place seemed... familiar. And very, very cold. 

A while ago Ken had come here on his own, leaving Minomon behind for the creature's own safety. He had no idea why he felt drawn to this place or why he was stupid enough to leave Minomon behind and not tell anyone of his leavetaking. They still had Black Wargreymon to contend with, after all. 

Eventually he found himself in what might as well have been a crypt of some type. It would have been, anyway, if the sarcophagus had any features that might offer an idea of what its inhabitant would look like. The face on the lid was undefined but humanoid, and the pose the carved figure took was more reminiscent of an Egyptian burial than a Babylonian one he would come to expect from such a complex. 

A quick survey of the room only offered more codes on the walls, and the sense of deja vu was becoming more and more pronounced. He had been here before several times, working late at nights on some sort of safeguard. What it was, he didn't know, but he was certain now that he had done it as the Kaiser. 

The boy stepped closer to the sarcophagus, studying the glyphs painted within an engraved cartouche. Only one of them he thought he recognized: a stylized bat. Though where he had seen it he could not remember. Absently he traced the brush-strokes that defined the bat, a growing sense of terror rising within at the recalled memory even as the bat began to glow a deep blood red. 

Following his first instinct, the Child of Kindness ran from the room to the safety outside. Once free of the coldness of the crypt he fell to his knees and turned to gaze at the ziggurat. 

While he was the Kaiser he valued his own survival above all else, and when the tide of the war with the other Chosen Children was turning against his favor he decided it was high time to take precautionary measures to thwart any unexpected demise. And the Kaiser, being the arrogant genius that he was, programmed a copy of himself within the ziggurat. That night he swore that if he was taken out of the running he would only rise again. 

.~*~. 

For the first time a being woke within its artificial womb, knowing his purpose and himself. He was the embodiment of the Digimon Kaiser, everything that was perfect within the flawed being called Ichijouji Ken. The perfection separated from the imperfect weakling that once battled with Ryo against Milleniumon and cried over his brother's death. The true genius, the only one that mattered. 

The Kaiser opened blue-violet eyes that absorbed all light and with a thought the lid of his coffin disappeared only to reconfigure itself as part of his body mass. He felt himself solidify and smiled pleasantly as he rose from the open sarcophagus to step down to the base of the altar which upheld it. 

A quick trot to the far side of the crypt room brought him to an archaic terminal. Once it was activated he planted a palm upon the screen and accessed the system logs of the Digital World to learn of the results of his war. 

Those brats had won, and not even through their own devices. Who knew the Kaiser would be betrayed by his own digimon? The very thought elicited a growl of anger from deep within the Kaiser's throat. Damn that... that **insect**! It had proven once and for all that it was not worthy of his presence. And the boy he had once been was now working for the enemy? 

Inexcusable. Completely and utterly inexcusable. He would have to put poor, whiny little Ken in his place. And Ken wasn't very far. Not far at all. Smirking to himself, he withdrew the glove-covered hand and contemplated just what to do. 

After a moment of this, he envisioned where the boy he had once been was kneeling, and imaged himself standing behind the boy. No sooner had the perfect mental image been constructed in his mind that the Kaiser found himself teleported from the cold chamber to the warm and sunlit world beyond. 

He stared down coldly and silently at the boy's neck. It would be so easy to just reach out and snap it, now wouldn't it? Or just wrap his hands around the smooth pale flesh and squeeze. But that would just be far too simple. Reaching out, he cleared the hair away from the back of the boy's neck with one hand in an almost caressing gesture. 

Startled by the unexpected contact, Ken bolted to his feet and away from the intruder only to spin around to catch a glimpse of who had caught him in such a vulnerable pose. When he did his entire body froze up in shock. 

The Kaiser stared back at him with a cold glint of amusement behind those purple-tinted shades, one arm akimbo in a gloating pose. And he could do nothing but swear at his inability to run as the Kaiser practically strutted up to him with the most fiendish grin he ever gave. 

"You didn't give them much of a fight, did you," the Kaiser muttered in a monotone that hinted at none of his inner fury. He reached forward to brush the hair away from Ken's ear in a caressing gesture he knew would unsettle the boy, giving a cat-like grin as the other's eyes widened. His fingers trailed to the back of Ken's head to gather a fist full of hair and yanked back sharply as his grin turned into a snarl. "We had entire legions at our beck and call! And you surrendered just because that **bug** died?! You **idiot**!" 

Ken winced as the Kaiser slapped him, unable to fall back due to the Kaiser's grip on his hair. The strike had been so hard that he could taste blood seeping from a cut in his mouth, yet it was just enough to jar him from his paralysis. There was a chance he could get out of this predicament and eliminate his doppelganger, though he might end up getting himself killed in the process. But then he didn't have much to lose anyway. 

Years spent training in judo made what he did next reflex. Lashing out, Ken freed himself from the Kaiser's grasp with a sudden swipe of the heel of his hand against the doppelganger's forearm. This action did not leave the Kaiser off guard for long, however, and Ken soon found himself with his legs knocked out from under him and lying in the desert sands. The Kaiser kicked him hard in the ribs, giving him the opportunity to seize the other's ankle and bring the doppelganger crashing into the sands. 

With the Kaiser temporarily dazed, Ken pounced on top of his doppelganger, wrapped his hands around the other's throat, and squeezed. The flesh was perfectly human in texture and firmness, a true marvel of accurate coding, and it yielded as genuine flesh would. Yet the Kaiser gave him a sickeningly self-confident smirk before disappearing underneath him. 

Before he could so much as gather himself fast enough to get into a defensive crouch, a searing pain cut into him and struck sharply against his back with enough force to make him collapse. This was quickly followed by several more lashes from what he assumed was his own whip. Biting back his cries of pain proved difficult, but he was not about to give the Kaiser that kind of pleasure. No, Ken would never let his dark side pry that from him. 

The onslaught ended after what seemed to be an eternity, leaving Ken lying in the sands with teeth ground together to distract from the pain that raced like wildfire along his nerves. Not that it helped. He was faintly aware of the shadow in the sands that quickly approached him, and began the motions that would bring him out of the way of the oncoming strike. Had his timing not been off by a second or so, he would have barely made it out of range. However, he was only faintly aware of the glint of sunlight reflecting off of the metal hilt of the Kaiser's whip before it impacted hard on his skull and his consciousness gave way to darkness. 

.~*~. 

The Kaiser hummed to himself as he read the system logs in greater detail, his prisoner chained up in another chamber within the ziggurat. Some idiot digimon born of a hundred control spires had been destroying the Holy Stones, which was just stupid. What use did the Kaiser have for a world teetering on the edge of destruction and who was Black Wargreymon to take it upon itself to go around destroying that which stabilized the Digital World? He'd just have to figure a way to bring that particular construct under his power and rebuild his empire. Maybe it might be a nice idea to take up residence on the mountain in File Island. That idea held within it a certain taste of irony. 

Not that he didn't like this ziggurat he built for himself, with its replicated statues and decorations reminiscent of the ancient cultures of Earth. On one of the walls free of codes was a mosaic of the Mesopotamian dragon goddess Tiamat torching her enemies, on another wall in the chamber he had Ken chained up in was a bas relief portraying a Toltec human sacrifice done in the Mayan art style which probably wasn't helping lighten the traitor's mood all that much. But setting up base where Devimon once dwelled would be disconcerting for a few of the Chosen Children who dared oppose him. 

And once again his thoughts returned to the boy he had once been. Rape was a fairly good form of subjugation, given the personality of the victim it was either quite easy to crush the victim's spirit or somewhat difficult. Save for certain psychological implications he'd rather not think about, the idea was actually quite appealing. He was no longer Ken, they were two separate entities entirely now. 

Yes, taking his pleasure from a pretty traitor before ripping the boy's heart out in a ritual fit for the Toltec would be a nice little waste of time before he went about his task of rebuilding. Perhaps if the boy proved broken he might even forgo killing Ken and keep the boy around as a pet. Right, and pigs will fly over Atlantis. He should know better than to expect Ken to submit to anything, he had once been the boy after all. Pity, as Ken was prettier than most people he had seen back when they were one and it would be a while before he would be able to find someone that aesthetically appealing again. C'est la vie. 

Figuring it was time to act on his plans, the Kaiser rose from his newly rendered throne and strode past the throneroom and down the dark corridors that lead eventually to the traitor's chamber. He entered the door-less chamber while making a mental note to attend to that lack of a door as soon as was possible. 

In the middle of the chamber was a basalt statue with its face permanently set in reverent submission. The statue in question was a chacmool, a semi-reclining humanoid figure with an offering plate to the gods set on its stomach often assumed to be used in the Toltec heart-sacrifice rites. Ken was seated on the offering plate and looking not at all pleased with his predicament. His left arm was manacled to the chacmool, leaving him incapable of escaping. 

The Kaiser chuckled in amusement at the look of pure hatred that Ken shot at him and strode up to run his fingers through the boy's silken hair. Oh, how cute, now Ken was audibly growling at him like a wild animal that had recently discovered it couldn't escape its cage. 

"How is it that you could pull off being so nice to our enemies when you spent so many years acting as me," the Kaiser asked, honestly curious as to how the person he had once been could do such a remarkable personality turnabout. He had been a part of Ken for so long that he didn't think such a change was possible in such a short time. It was completely illogical. 

Ken merely shrugged and looked away, rather uncomfortable with his position and the Kaiser's proximity. Of all the theories he could form about what the Kaiser would do to him, none of them were pleasant. "Maybe I wanted to, maybe I decided to emulate Ryo. What does it matter to you?" 

"Just curious," The Kaiser muttered as he withdrew his hand and reached into a slot in the metal armguard that acted as a sheath for his personal weapon he carried in the event that he didn't need the whip. He drew out the little knife and held it up, letting the torchlight reflect off its polished blade. 

Steeling himself in anticipation of a slow and painful death, Ken looked away as he felt the Kaiser gather up the material of his uniform and began cutting it away. So that was how it was going to be, eh? Fine, he at least had one hand free and while taking advantage of that would be stupid there really wasn't much he could lose. It might even be better for both worlds if he was killed. But someone would have to undo the damage caused by his releasing the Kaiser clone from the ziggurat... and since this was his fault, he would have to be the one to clean up this mess. 

Alright, he'd have to do something about the manacle and end up hurting himself severely in the process, but the pain would be worth the opportunity to eliminate his doppelganger. Ken's mind raced over all his options and what he remembered of the ziggurat even as he disassociated himself from his own body. Everything about the system was coded on the walls, and he faintly remembered where and how he had laid out each section and function of the coding. Now if only he could recall how to decipher said coding... 

The Kaiser gave a sulfurous growl as he recognized the rather absent look apparent in Ken's eyes and threw the knife to the side. Taking the boy's face in his hands, he leaned forward to roughly press his lips against the other's. This action instantly snapped Ken's thoughts back into the midst of the situation, and the boy yanked away from him in shock. 

Ken's fingers reached up in an almost bewildered gesture to brush against his lips. That was certainly unexpected, and he could have sworn the Kaiser would do something... anything... other than that. "You know," he muttered as he gathered himself. "Freud would have a field day with you." 

"Freud was a sexually repressed pervert who kept seeing innuendo in places it wasn't," the Kaiser groused as he ripped away the now ruined shirt and jacket, rather annoyed that Ken was attempting to distract him with small talk. "Now where was I..." 

"Which god do you intend to sacrifice me to, anyway? I can't imagine Quetzalcoatl would be pleased with a boy being deflowered by another on a chacmool of all things." 

"None, though it would give me great pleasure to be rid of you once and for all," was the displeased reply from the Kaiser as he pulled off his gloves and unlatched the metal guards that circled his wrists. With those out of the way he gave a malicious smirk and tweaked hard at one of Ken's nipples. Much to his displeasure, this failed to elicit the kind of response he wanted to rip from Ken's throat. He wanted something audible, a cry of pain or pleasure, it didn't matter so long as he had some indication that he was in charge and he was controlling Ken's reactions. This silence from the boy only proved that Ken refused to allow him that. 

Not a problem, and the Kaiser would damn himself if he didn't rise to the unspoken challenge. A quick shove unbalanced the boy seated on the chacmool and left Ken lying across the statue's offering plate. With quick hands the Kaiser removed the rest of the boy's garments. Once that was done and out of the way, the Kaiser stepped back to consider what to do next. Claiming Ken there and then was highly appealing, and anything else he wanted to do to the boy could be done later. After all, he had the place to himself and no one would so much as notice that Ken was missing. While foreplay might have been nice, it would have diluted the kind of message he wanted to beat into the boy he had been once upon a time. 

Meanwhile, Ken's mind had deserted his body once again, shielding himself underneath layers and layers of far more pleasant thoughts. Osamu blowing bubbles with him out on the balcony of their room. Ryo picking him up into a hug of sheer joy when their digimon partners finally jogress evolved. Daisuke, who resembled Ryo and had a V-mon similar to Ryo's that Ken had unconsciously latched to Daisuke as a replacement for the best friend he lost after the battle with Milleniumon, and later Takeru offering him their friendship despite all he had done. With his mind so entranced by those memories, he barely registered the hard bites on his neck and on other parts of his body. That was being done to someone else, he was too busy clinging to the protection the memories gave him. 

A sharp pain that seared along Ken's nerves rudely ripped him from the protective layers he had built around himself and thrust him back into the reality of what was being done to him. The Kaiser had entered him in a single harsh stroke without lubrication of any kind and tore something in him in the process. It hurt so much that he was incapable of biting back a cry against it. This left him violently swearing at himself for creating this monster, for being stupid enough to come here at all, for giving the Kaiser exactly what the doppelganger wanted. For existing. 

As the Kaiser took pleasure from his body, Ken's thoughts settled on things far more darker than the memories he had hidden behind. He'd dislocate the joints in his own hand if he wanted to get out of the iron manacle, tinker with the coding that made up the Kaiser's defenses, and kill his doppelganger. Just change the wording of a few codes and add a few lines of his own, then... then... 

An audible whimper escaped Ken despite his best efforts to suppress it as the Kaiser began stroking at a spot inside him that started to feel rather good despite the pain he was still in. Dammit, the pleasure from that stroking that Ken was certain had been unintentional was starting to get him aroused too. Like he needed another reason to hate what the Kaiser was doing to him... or himself for that matter. 

This treatment continued for awhile, the Kaiser openly gloating at the fact that Ken was actually starting to relax and enjoy what was being done to him whether he wanted to or not, and Ken loathing himself immensely for it. Not long afterwards, Ken reached his peak and the Kaiser joined him soon after. It was a while before the Kaiser would peel away from him, however, and only did so after forcing him into a rather tired kiss. 

The Kaiser disappeared after another session, presumably to recover his energy, which left Ken alone on the sacrificial statue with one hand still trapped in the manacle and he was bleeding still from the first penetration. Yet the physical pain was nothing compared to his self-inflicted mental torture. 

He gazed up into the light thrown on the ceiling by the one torch in the chamber, unable to stop the tears from spilling out onto his cheeks. The pain was terrible, yet he had enjoyed the pleasure that the Kaiser had milked out of him during the rape. His mind refused to focus on anything other than that, and some little voice in him mocked his tears and rattled on about what a worthless piece of trash he was for letting himself get into this predicament. 

There were few things he wished for in his life, and more or less they all came true. This time he wished for death. 

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Ajora: This fic is composed of multiple parts. Also, the fic is really experimental for me, so I wouldn't be surprised if people hated it. 


	2. Tablet II - Kurenai

Phantom Codewalker  
Tablet II - Kurenai  
by Ajora Fravashi  


*Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon. Toei/Bandai does.  
*Kaiken (Kaiser/Ken). Violence, self-mutilation, murder. Budding friendship that should be apparent given my usual fics. Has nothing to do with my other fics. I mean it. Really. 

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Shadows and light flickered across the stone ceiling in patterns that were never the same. That the torchlight was dancing at all indicated that the sacrifice chamber was somewhere close to the entrance of the ziggurat and that there were reasonably strong winds outside. 

A blueprint of the complex laid itself out in Ken's mind. It was more likely than naught that the Kaiser had set up the temple at the top of the ziggurat as the throneroom... that was something Ken honestly expected of the Kaiser. He was most likely chained up in the lower temple that led to the one above and housed the crypt deep within, so he had a bit of a walk to undertake to access the chamber he would need to be in to carry out his plans. But first order of business was to get out of the manacle first. 

Despite the discomfort caused by the action, Ken sat up to get a good look at the ring of iron that encircled his wrist. He could just barely get the lower joint of the metacarpal that lead to his thumb through the manacle after practically rubbing the skin raw, but the joints that united metacarpals to the fingers of his hands could not be squeezed through no matter what he did. The knuckles were wider than the ring he was trying to pull them through, which left him with only one option. 

With teeth ground together in anticipation of what was to come, Ken pressed the palm of his left hand against the stone plate, leaving the little finger and its corresponding metacarpal hanging over the edge. He struck hard against the knuckle with the heel of his right hand, only succeeding in bruising himself. Another couple of hits and the extrinsic ligament that connected the joints of the little finger and its metacarpal to the rest of his knuckles tore away. 

The pain was blinding, worse by far than when he had been raped. It brought forth new tears and it took every ounce of willpower he had to keep from screaming in agony. After allowing time for the edge of the pain to wear off, he pushed the knuckle under another in what would be a highly unnatural position and slid the manacle the rest of the way off. 

How he had managed not to faint was a question that would forever elude him afterwards. Perhaps the adrenaline that was triggered by the self-inflicted damage kept him conscious, perhaps the intense need to eliminate his doppelganger and avenge himself overrode any natural reactions. At the moment, however, those questions failed to cross his mind, and instead the primal urges of a wounded animal with nothing to lose sprung forth. Nothing else but the Kaiser's death mattered. 

Pulling on what was left of his clothes had been reflex only, though he disliked the fact that he had no warpaint to play with or a weapon at his side. There was the Kaiser's knife that had been tossed off to the side and forgotten, and it would be sufficient for one of the tasks he needed to do, but for the final strike he'd need something far more damaging and useful at a distance. However, if the Kaiser had not yet secured the armory, he might be able to find a sarissa or a dart and atlatl there. 

Ken slowly exited the sacrifice chamber with the knife in hand, his nerves never pausing to remind him what he had been through so far. Walking jarred his poor abused body and he was certain that this was only irritating the lacerations within that the Kaiser had caused, but nothing mattered anymore. 

Thankfully it was a relatively short walk to the armory at the far side of the lesser temple, and entering it was only a matter of palming the lock and stepping through the doorway. Polearms, blades, and pneumatic guns spanned the wall parallel to the doorway and the display was flanked by matching suits of samurai armor. While the guns held a certain appeal they were also heavier than he could carry in his current state. On another wall were various models of archery bows from just as many cultures with quivers full of arrows beneath them, and taking up the space left over was a simple little atlatl with a pouch full of obsidian darts. 

A beautiful tool, the atlatl. Simply a slab of wood with a groove carved into it and a hook at the end. The hook was where the butt of the dart was placed against, and a good throw would send a dart flying with more force than any spearman could manage. It was light, quiet, easy to make and carry around, and darts were just as easy to replace. One of the many underrated accomplishments in design that the Mesoamericans had managed. He took this down after tying the pouch of darts to his belt and was soon off to one of the many chambers dedicated to the program codes. 

Settling down at one of the more important walls proved difficult with the tears within him, but he managed regardless. Staring at the walls for awhile helped unfold his memories and the glyphs became more familiar. For instance, the one that looked like the katakana 'ro' was the glyph corresponding to the phonetic 'a', the one that looked like the kanji for 'spine' sounded like 'i'. Everything finally fell into place. That the code was laid out much like Perl was an added bonus... of the many programming languages out there, he actually liked Perl. 

The Child of Kindness pulled back the sleeve covering his left arm, staring at it for a moment. Given what he planned to do he did not expect to survive after his plot would come to fruition, so it would be pointless to start acting vain now and he really didn't have anything to write with. A hiss escaped his lips as he cut across the flesh of his arm to draw blood and narrowly avoided one of the major blood vessels. It would do no good to kill himself then and there without seeing this all to the end. 

He coated his index finger with his own blood, ignoring the pain, and began adding his own codes to the ones already there. This particular section was the Kaiser's personal shield of sorts that protected him from any apparent danger and had to be either taken down or inverted. A few lines of code written out in blood and the forcefield would only provide protection against anything with a considerable metallic content. Simply an exception tacked on to the end, really. 

With that much done and out of the way, Ken rose unsteadily to his feet, holding the self-inflicted wound shut until he could make it to the other code room he needed to tamper with. 

This one required much more coding, and therefore much more blood. Sighing miserably at this, Ken began the long, arduous process of formulating the self-destruct sequence for the ziggurat that would start after a countdown that would be triggered when the Kaiser died. When it was finally done he felt rather faint with the blood loss, but he had to go on as there was still that final factor. 

The trek up the steps and through corridors that passed as secret passages was long, painful, and more than once he was sorely tempted to go to sleep and let death relieve him of his suffering. But at long last he finally reached the topmost temple of the ziggurat and carefully knocked a dart onto the atlatl before continuing. 

The Kaiser turned and scowled at this unexpected entry, but could not wring out a word before the dart went flying. It penetrated the forcefield he thought would protect him, and the force sent the dart plowing through his chest and out his back, its flightpath only ceased when the obsidian point shattered like glass against a granite wall. 

Stunned, the Kaiser looked down at the gaping wound in his chest that had just narrowly missed his heart yet sliced open several major arteries and veins in its wake, lightly touching the oozing blood in disbelief. "How... I... I'm immortal," the Kaiser's voice rattled, clearly having trouble speaking. 

"I programmed you with the same strengths and weaknesses as any true human. You may have the power to twist the natural laws of the Digital World to your will and teleport, but you're still a direct clone of me," Ken sighed, not doing all that well himself considering the pain that still burned, throbbed, and gave other unpleasant sensations throughout his body that he wished he could escape if just for a moment. "I thought it was foolish at first, but instinct won out. Abschied, mein Kaiser." 

Ken turned his back to the Kaiser that was quickly bleeding to death, walking slowly and carefully down the main stairs that lead outside and to the lower level stairs that would take him to ground level. 

The sunlight was warm, welcoming even though it would give way to nightfall in an hour. On the winds he faintly heard a pleasant female voice rise from the ziggurat's main temple that was so far above now. "This complex will self-destruct in T-minus five minutes." 

Despite all the pain, despite his body's desire to pass out, he smiled at that voice. It was reminiscent of his only female friend, the one who was killed shortly after Osamu so long ago. Maybe he would join her and Osamu soon if the powers that be deemed him worthy. 

With the memory of her face and Osamu still in mind, he settled upon the final flight of stairs and resigned himself to death. 

.~*~. 

Takaishi Takeru rarely worried about his fellow teammates like this, as they all could more or less take care of themselves. But Ichijouji had been missing for awhile now and no one had seen or heard the raven-haired boy leave. And given that Minomon was left behind, Takeru had a really bad feeling about this unexpected disappearance. 

So here he was with Pegasumon, flying over vast expanses in the Digital World and worrying himself sick all the while. He considered Ichijouji Ken a friend. A little reserved and taciturn, perhaps, but given what Ken had done and had been through he really couldn't blame the boy. It was a pity that Daisuke had more courage to reach out to Ken in the first few days after the Kaiser's fall than he did. 

A rather odd formation that stood out against the desert sands drew Pegasumon's attention, and the digimon asked his rider if Takeru would like to investigate. Given that this was the third of the various odd formations they had searched through in the Digital World, Takeru didn't really expect to find much within its walls but held on to the hope that they would find Ken anyway. 

Pegasumon winged towards the complex and circled it. As his eyes were sharper than those of his human's, he made note of the figure huddled on the lower stairs of the ziggurat and without any urging from Takeru he dove close enough to the figure so that they both could recognize the unconscious boy. 

Takeru nearly fell off Pegasumon in his rush to get to the boy's side, stunned at the amount of damage done to Ken and wishing that he had gotten there sooner. The pallor of Ken's skin and the trail of blood that spattered down the stairs hinted that the raven-haired boy didn't have all that long to live. Unnerved at how light Ken was when he picked the boy off the stone stairs, Takeru hefted Ken onto his mount's back as carefully as he could in his rush and joined soon after. 

"T-minus one minute to self-destruction," stated a rather pleasant yet cold female voice rising from the building at the top of the ziggurat. Takeru whipped around to gaze up at the temple, his eyes widening unconsciously at the announcement of approaching doom. 

The equine digimon needed no encouragement from his rider, only allowing the boy a moment to grab onto his mane with one hand and the other arm circling Ken's shoulders before spreading his wings to rise into the air. It took more flapping than he expected to undertake to access an updraft that would take him and his rider a safe distance away, but thankfully he had barely managed to escape the blast range. 

Out of morbid curiosity, Takeru looked back past his shoulder to watch the explosion. As explosions go it wasn't too big and it was certainly successful in its job to reduce the complex to rubble, but he shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if he hadn't taken it upon himself to search for Ken. 

As Pegasumon rode the wind, the blond looked down at the unconscious boy in his arms. Ken needed to be hospitalized as soon as possible, but this was the Digital World and Takeru had no idea what to do with Ichijouji other than clean and bandage that nasty cut in the boy's forearm. 

"There was a cottage back where the river separated the forest from desert, wasn't there? Perhaps you can patch up Ken in it," Pegasumon suggested, somewhat worried at the distress his human partner was practically radiating. 

"Yeah, let's go and hope the owner doesn't mind visitors," the blond replied tonelessly. He was not about to lose a friend now due to inaction on his part, and with that thought he unconsciously gave Ken's shoulder a light squeeze. 

The cottage in question was situated on the forest side of the river. Why there was no vegitation past the western bank of the river while it flourished on the eastern side was one of the many mysteries of the Digital World that would never be answered. But there was a cottage that looked rather inviting and at that moment its presence was all that really mattered. 

Takeru carefully laid Ken out on his mount's back before dragging himself off, rather disturbed at the multiple lashes on the boy's back that he hadn't noticed before. That would have to be taken care of too. In his rush he nearly fell off Pegasumon once again as he dismounted, taking a moment to right himself before running up to knock on the door. 

The man that answered the door had to be in his early twenties at most. He had brown hair that was spiked back with sky blue eyes that sparkled in amusement and curiosity, and a white robe with burnt umber pipings draped over his form. Much to Takeru's relief he looked rather friendly. 

"Hello, may I help you," The man asked, the amusement in his eyes tapering off as he got a good look at the urgency in Takeru's face. 

Steeling himself against the rush of emotions that threatened to flood over him, Takeru began slowly. "My friend is hurt really badly, and I- I think he might die. P-please let us stay..." 

"Certainly," the man nodded tersely, looking out past the blond to get a good look at the injured friend lying across a Pegasumon's back. There was something very familiar about that boy... if the hair was shorter and had a different cut, it... it... oh god no, not _him_... 

Takeru was nearly shoved off his feet as the robed man pushed past him with the most stricken look Takeru had ever seen in anyone. He watched in surprise as the man pulled Ken off Pegasumon and held the boy in a tender embrace. 

This was certainly bizarre, and before Takeru could go further into his thoughts the man returned with Ken in his arms and tears in those once merry blue eyes. Rendered speechless at this whole display, Takeru could only follow as the man shuffled back into the cottage. 

It was a nice cottage, really, and originally meant to house three humans if the furnishings were anything to go by. Set on the mantle above a fireplace was a small group of framed photos, and hung above that was a painting of a sword lying across a shield with a single rosebud settled upon the blade. Whatever it meant, Takeru really didn't care to ask at the moment. There would be time later. 

Within a rather comfortable-looking bedroom, the robed man laid Ken out on the boy's stomach before cutting away the tattered shirt and jacket. Takeru winced at the criss-crossing marks on Ken's back, some of which bit deep enough to draw blood. The man looked pale as he whispered his thoughts, that this was done by a whip. 

"Listen, Takeru" the man began, reaching up to brush back a lock of hair that had fallen free of the spikes and hung over his forehead in what could only be a nervous gesture. "Ken is going to need the help of someone who knows medicine better than I, so I'm going to see if I can summon a couple of Swiss Chosen Children who dabble in such things. Think you can patch up what you can before they get here?" 

"I'll see what I can do." 

Bowing to him in thanks, the robed man then rose and trotted quickly out of the bedroom. Takeru looked around in a mixture of desperation and panic as he tried to find something to staunch the bloodflow. Out of the corner of his eye he noted a blur of orange and cream that flapped in and abducted his hat. Patamon dropped the hat on the wound in Ken's left arm and pressed up against it. 

Well, so much for the hat. At least it was doing some good now and left him with time to find better supplies. With a quick 'thanks' to Patamon, Takeru rose from the side of the bed to see if he could dig up something from the bathroom. Once armed with a bowl of warm water, guaze, antiseptics, and other basic medical supplies, Takeru returned to the bedside and began his work. 

It wasn't until later, once the majority of the external wounds were cleansed and bound under layers of bandages, that Takeru began to wonder about just how the robed man knew of Ken. Or of himself, for that matter. 

.~*~. 

There had been three of them, the Tag Tamers. The white-haired girl called Kageko who had given him more attention than his own mother ever did. Ryo, the first person ever to offer him friendship. Ryo always had such nice, merry blue eyes and that odd nervous reflex that kicked in every now and then which would make him brush back the wild lock of brown hair that always hung over his forehead. Ryo and Kageko already had their crests, and never failed to encourage him when he got depressed about not finding his own. They were the best friends he ever had. 

Kageko was the first to leave, reportedly killed in a car accident uncannily similar to the one that had killed Osamu. He didn't blame her for that. Then Ryo left right after the battle with Milleniumon, saying something or another about being needed by the Powers That Be which presided over the Digital World. He had not seen or heard from Ryo since and he was certain that Ryo abandoned him. 

Ken woke up with these thoughts floating around in his head, feeling bitter regret on top of the dull pain. Why had Ryo never contacted him? He knew Ryo and Kageko had been involved with each other on a level he didn't understand back then, and that Osamu and Ryo had been friends of sorts, but didn't he ever count? Was it because Kageko and Osamu were dead that Ryo couldn't bear being reminded of them anymore? 

And why wasn't he dead? 

A survey around the room hampered slightly by the fact that he was lying on his right side revealed it to be somewhat familiar, although he couldn't quite remember why. Sunlight flooded the place, and across from him was rather familiar boy sleeping in the chair at his bedside and a ball of orange and cream fur curled in the boy's lap. What was Takeru doing here? Was Takeru the one who ripped death from him? 

Sighing, Ken settled back on the bed and assessed the damages. His left hand was in a cast, and bandages were wrapped around his arm and torso. The hand still ached but it hurt far less than it had been. The whip marks had been reduced to a dull throb, so the only thing that still hurt considerably was the fragile tissue inside him that the Kaiser had oh so unceremoniously ripped during the rape. Even then it was not as bad as it had been. 

Takeru awoke with several muscles cramped thanks to having spent the last few hours sleeping in a chair. The night had been a long blur of three rushing people and mysteries no one would explain to him. At least Ken was on the path of physical recovery. 

"Hey, are you hungry," Takeru asked of the wounded boy with a tired half-smile on his face that probably did nothing to hide his concern. The question of who had done this to Ichijouji had plagued his mind all night and the robed man known only as 'the Tamer' avoided replying to him as much as possible. Afterwards the Swiss kids had left and the Tamer did something that Takeru didn't get to see due to being locked out. The Tamer told him nothing except that the man was needed elsewhere and could not attend to Ken's recovery. 

This, of course, meant that Takeru was alone with Patamon to take care of Ken as much as he was able to. Although he had to admit, at least they were useful now, and he figured Ken needed sustenance to recover. 

Ken closed his eyes, wishing that Takaishi wasn't there to see him like this. He hated being seen by anyone like this, hated to be seen as weak and easily hurt... especially by those he knew. But if an answer would get Takeru out of the room, so be it. "Somewhat." 

"Great," the blond grinned as he rose from the chair to stretch. Patamon tumbled out of his lap and flapped away to raid the kitchen. "Just a warning in advance, I'm not that great a cook. Do you want anything in particular?" 

"Not really," Ken replied in a monotone. It wasn't until he heard the door open and then shut shortly afterwards that he opened his eyes once again. 

It was then that they returned, the memories of what had been done to him, the cruelty in the Kaiser's eyes during the rape. What was worse was the fact that the Kaiser won just by performing one of the most basic acts man was capable of. It was only sex, yet it devastated him in ways few other things could. 

Why didn't Takeru just leave him out at the ziggurat to die? 

.~*~. 

It would be awhile before the stove would be hot enough to boil water, so Takeru spent a couple of minutes looking at the photographs that graced the mantle. There was one solitary photo of a girl with hair so pale it appeared white, who was gazing out with ice blue eyes. Another photo depicted the girl and a teenaged boy in a blue shirt and khakis, both grinning and hugging a rather embarrassed-looking kid with dark hair and amethyst eyes between them. 

Eyes widening at this, Takeru inspected the rest of the framed images. The younger boy was Ken at around the age of eight or nine, it had to be as there were far too many similarities between the two. The older was the Tamer, and there was something oddly familiar about the way robed man carried himself, about how the eyes crinkled in amusement. What it was, however, Takeru couldn't put his finger on it quite yet. But from the looks of it this had been Ken's home once, and Takeru wondered faintly what happened since Ken never once mentioned it or said anything about the Tamer for that matter. Too many mysteries. 

Once he finished with the meal of white miso soup and rice balls and left Patamon to devour what remained in the rice pot, the Child of Hope returned to his patient's room armed with a tray full of food he had sprinkled with something the Tamer left on the counter. The fine beige powder had been left with instructions explaining that it was necessary for Ken to ingest it to take care of any internal injuries. Takeru wasn't about to argue. 

The view he witnessed once he reentered the room was something he had seen only once before. Ken was... crying? Why? 

Takeru hated seeing anyone suffer, and his heart instantly went out to the raven-haired boy currently sobbing into the pillow. Something bad happened in that complex to reduce Ken to this, and Takeru was certain now that it was the same thing that nearly killed the boy. Silently setting the tray on a dresser close by, Takeru soon knelt before Ken and reached out to stroke the mop of tangled raven hair reassuringly. 

Ken froze at the unexpected contact. Had he been so lost in his own misery that he hadn't heard the blond enter the room? Silently berating himself for his sensory lapse, Ken wiped away the tears with the undamaged hand. 

"It's alright to cry, y'know," Takeru whispered reassuringly as he withdrew his hand, giving an almost self-deprecating grin before continuing. "Hey, I did more than my fair share of that when I was a kid. Still do sometimes. There's nothing wrong with it, and it helps most of the time." 

Blinking, Ken stared at the blonde. He had never seen Takeru cry... not openly at least. It made him wonder just how much of Takeru's cheerfulness was a facade. 

"You... you won't tell anyone about this, will you?" 

"Of course not! But if it helps, I formally promise that no one will hear of how I found you or what went on. On my honor, whatever that's worth," the blond stated in all seriousness. He didn't know Ken all that well, but at least he knew that no one would want such a private moment revealed to anyone. "You know, it helps me feel better when I cry with my arms around something. So if you want to cry on someone's shoulder, I'm available." 

After a moment's hesitation, Ken wrapped his arms around the other boy and buried his face in Takeru's shoulder. It was oddly comforting to hold someone like this, despite the relative awkwardness of their positions. He wouldn't have even done this normally, but something within him responded to the offer in a way he hadn't since Ryo had abandoned him. 

With a slight smile, Takeru carefully gathered the raven-haired boy into his arms. Hopefully Ken would feel better afterwards and eat most of what he fixed. And once the Tamer came back, Takeru swore he was going to get all his answers, whether the Tamer was willing or not. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Ajora: Special thanks to Dad the Archaeologist for technical help and answering all my questions concerning Mesoamerican technology and rituals (and showing me some slides of a dart being driven straight through a wooden target by a group of archaeologists demonstrating Mayan war tactics and the use of atlatls. Really, those things are deceptively powerful), and Meimi for letting me borrow her creation, Kageko. Ryo co-starred with Ken in the Wonderswan games "Tag Tamers" and "D-1 Tamers" and as such isn't mine. I wish I could claim him, though. Additionally, he saved Taichi and the rest of the season 1 kids from Millenniumon in Anode Tamer.  
And yes, Abschied means 'Farewell'. 


	3. Tablet III - Blue Blood

Phantom Codewalker  
Tablet III - Blue Blood  
by Ajora Fravashi  


*Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon. Toei/Bandai does.  
*Violence and gore warning, with a nice healthy dose of Ryo angst on the side. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

For what seemed to be the hundredth time in the last twenty-four hours, a young man brushed back a lock of hair that had sprung forth and resumed its place upon his forehead. The night had been an emotional hell for him, and the day was not turning out to be much better. He was waiting now to be chastised for stealing technology from another world to aid in the healing of perhaps the one friend he ever really had. Oh, Taichi was great for all of the few months he knew the boy, but once Taichi had returned to Earth, they never spoke again beyond a few pleasantries in passing. But Ken... Ken was so sorely in need of someone who actually cared enough that he had reached out to the little boy and never let go. 

Until he sold himself to the Powers That Be in exchange for the power to save Ken from death and prevent the Dark Seed from blooming. Since then Zhuqiaomon, one of the Holy Beasts of the Digital World and his "handler" more or less, insisted that he avoid contact with his friend and Jogress partner in all ways possible. It was with a heavy heart that he watched the Kaiser's rise and fall, knowing that he could do nothing but observe. 

Zhuqiaomon emerged, revealing itself in all its fiery splendor. It glared down at him in disapproval as its multiple wings fluttered in an almost lazy manner. "You have broken one of our laws, Tamer. Technology from other worlds should not be exposed to or used on the denizens of another. Do you have an explanation with which to defend yourself?" 

"It's my job to watch over the Chosen Children to the best of my abilities," the Tamer stated patiently despite his annoyance with the firebird's lack of concern for any of the children who were chosen to protect the Digital World. The Holy Beasts never actually cared for the chosen ones, but he was uncertain as to whether they were genuinely unconcerned or if it was out of ignorance of the fact that humans do not regenerate like digimon do. "The one I have used the nanotechnology on is one whose survival is imperative to the plans of you and your colleagues. Neither he or his friend are aware of what I used and once the bots are done, they'll simply break down to basic chains of proteins and dissolve in his bloodstream. There will be no trace of the technology." 

A grunt of grudging acknowledgment from the firebird rose at this. "Very well. See to it that he returns to action once his wounds are fully healed. We would also like to take this time to notify you that a rogue codewalker has recently arisen. Eliminate it before it becomes aware of who it was and what it is." 

Swallowing uncomfortably at the thought of another codewalker in the Digital World, the young man nodded. "I shall see to that immediately. Is there anything else?" 

The firebird paused in the motions that would take it back the way it came. "You are not to break the laws set by us ever again. Is that understood, Akiyama Ryo?" 

"Perfectly understood," the young man muttered bitterly. It was so rare when any of the Holy Beasts uttered his name that he was certain until now that they had forgotten it. He waited until Zhuqiaomon disappeared into the clouds before retreating from the mountains in kind. 

Oh, in the begining the prospect of becoming a Tamer was such a refreshing difference from what he would have gotten on Earth that he had begged for it. True Tamers, those of the Gennai Order, were rare in that they were Chosen Children who never really bonded with a single digimon for long. He had been training Kageko and Ken for the job in hopes that they would join him, but that they both bonded with their own digimon partners presented a rather unpleasant knot in those plans. Then, once things started getting nasty in the Digital World, he found that being a Tamer could be even more difficult than being a regular Chosen Child: as the last true Tamer his existance was brought to the attention of the Holy Beasts and they shackled him with the job of keeping watch over the Chosen Children. He was required to act in the shadows and help the Chosen Children only by uttering hints and occassionally offering sanctuary. There had been times when he had to outright lie to them. 

As it was, there had only ever been six Tamers of the Gennai Order in the history of the Digital World, and all but one had been killed or retired. He would have stepped down as well if he wasn't bound by pact to the Holy Beasts that guarded the Digital World. And now he was far more than just a Tamer. 

Things should have been different. He should be living with Kageko and Ken in their little cottage out in an area of the Digital World that very few visited. That was why he had built that cottage in the first place, to offer Ken a normal family life the boy never had and make his best friend happy. But things went horribly wrong and he could do nothing as he watched his friend's life shatter over and over again. 

Perhaps that was why the situation grated on his nerves. Last night's first batch of investigative nanobots had revealed that Ken had been brutally raped, though by whom the bots couldn't tell. There was something bizarre about the semen sample that prevented them from successfully figuring out the basic genetic print. Couldn't be from a digimon, however, as far as he knew, digimon do not breed. Needless to say, what he had learned from the bots was both depressing and infuriating. He should have kept a closer eye on Ken. Should have been a better friend than he was. 

As he entered the mechanorimon that he used as transport, his thoughts returned to the conversation with Zhuqiaomon. Maybe this recent appearance of a codewalker was related to Ken's rape? Codewalkers were even more rare than the Tamers of the Gennai Order, they were the spirits of humans who died in the Digital World. Like ghosts, they could materialize and disappear at will, and when they became aware they either infected the heart of the Digital World or roamed around like lost children. It was difficult for anyone to actually track one down and neutralize it, as they followed the nature of their namesake and could flit from host to host and occupy inanimate objects without anyone noticing. And if the codewalker was in any way related to the ziggurat out in the desert that now was nothing but broken stone, he was going to have to reveal himself to the boy far sooner than he wanted to. 

Sighing in despair, the Tamer launched his mechanorimon and left it on autopilot for the long flight home. Maybe he should wait until the boy recovered first before dropping such a large emotional bombshell. Yes, that would be the most prudent approach, and he honestly didn't think either he or Ken could deal with the stress of a full encounter at this point. 

This, however, left him with the dilemma of time. Whether the Holy Beasts liked it or not, Ken was going to need time to heal and right now the Digital World was in danger with Black Wargreymon on the prowl. He'd hate to do it, but he would need to command the nanobots within Ken to speed up their work. 

Far too much stress. Really, there were times he wished that he hadn't given up a normal life on Earth with normal parents and spending all his time chatting online with normal people whose only idea of a Digital World was the World Wide Web. This was one of those times. 

Once he had the mechanorimon land, the Tamer hopped out and entered his cottage. Takeru was sitting in what would have been Ken's chair in front of the fireplace, with Patamon curled up in the boy's lap. It had been a while since he saw the boy, and it was rather disconcerting to see such strength of will in what used to be a sensitive little boy who cried easily and clung to his brother. But when he had seen Takeru last, it was during a time that Takeru couldn't possibly remember, when Millenniumon showed up in the Digital World for the first time. After taking a sake bottle from the pantry in the kitchen, the Tamer returned to the living room and poured himself a cup. 

"He's asleep," Takeru stated in a tone that betrayed nothing of what the boy was thinking. Faintly perturbed by this, the Tamer settled in his own comfortable chair and gave a grin that was as false as the old man visage he once used. 

"That's great! Sleep is good for recovery. I trust you've fed him that powder," the Tamer asked as he drained the tiny cup and filled it up again with more of the warm rice wine. 

Takeru frowned to himself, recognizing the facade for what it was. The man was really much too familiar for Takeru's peace of mind, although some theories were begining to take shape and present themselves to him. "Yes, I did. Who are you, Tamer?" 

The Tamer swept back the lock of hair that had fallen once again over his forehead, not liking the question one bit and liking the timing even less. "I am one person that is many." 

"I want the truth and I want details. Who are you," Takeru queried yet again. He wasn't really enjoying having to pry anything out of anyone, but he swore he was going to get his answers regardless of the method used. 

"Truth is relative. But if you insist... I am a teenaged boy, a young man, an eccentric old geezer. My job allows for me to take as many different forms as is required for the task. Ken needed a friend, I allowed myself to be natural around him. You and your group needed a mentor, another member of my Order projected himself as a weird grandfather figure for you. That old man figure was nothing more than a mask that we were able to use any time we needed to," the Tamer murmured in distress. He really wasn't liking this day at all and he hated having to reveal himself to Takeru so soon. "I'm a chameleon, I can switch personalities as is necessary." 

Leaning back into the soft padding of the chair, Takeru closed his eyes. Well, that was one theory verified... Though just what it meant about what he believed was true disturbed him. "Then your name isn't really Ge-" 

"No. No, it's Akiyama Ryo. _He_ was just a shell program that was needed for a job," Ryo offered as he poured himself another cup and drained it just as quickly. Maybe if he was lucky he could get himself drunk and forget this whole thing ever happened. 

"Well then, _Akiyama_, how much of what you told us was a lie? What is this place?" 

"The lies and truths of what I have told your group cannot be verified yet... not until the Dragon rises. Then I am sure he'll be willing to let you all know. And this place..." 

Rising from his chair and leaving the sake bottle on the coffee table, Ryo strode forward to stare pointedly at the painting. "Kindness, Truth, Loyalty," the Tamer pointed to the rosebud, the sword, and the shield as he listed the crests. "We wanted to be a family. Ken was horribly neglected at home, you see, so Kageko and I thought it would be a great idea to set up a home in the Digital World where we could give Ken the attention he deserved." 

Silence was all that followed for awhile. Takeru swallowed rather uncomfortably at this new revelation. He had known nothing about Ken's past, but then Ken never really talked about it. How would Ken respond to this? Hell, it wasn't like he was taking the discovery of Akiyama's alias very well anyway. It was akin to being told that everything he believed in as a child was a lie. It wasn't until Akiyama returned to the chair that Takeru asked his next question. "Ken's never said anything about you. Why's that?" 

"He probably hates me," Ryo offered with a humorless half-smile as he picked the sake bottle back up and cradled it in an almost comforting gesture. "Not that I blame him. His brother had recently died, and soon afterwards he and I had to go into battle. For awhile this was all we would focus on. Something horrible happened to him after that battle, it made him ill for weeks. I pulled strings at my own expense to get the power to heal him, and once he was stable, the Powers That Be of the Digital World started using me as they saw fit. I'm certain that he thinks I abandoned him. Does that answer all your questions, Takeru?" 

A slight frown crossed the blond's face as he absently stroked his partner's wings. Akiyama looked to be rather tired now, although whether it was due to agitation over his questions, the rice wine, or both, he couldn't guess. "Two things: One, would you rather I not tell Ken about you at the moment? And what happened last night when you locked me out? I may not know as much as you do about him, but I do know that there are few things that can reduce a person like him to crying." 

The Tamer sighed once again. "Yes, I'd appreciate it if you don't tell him at the moment, I doubt either of us could handle the stress right now. And as for the second question," Akiyama paused to take another sip from the sake bottle. "I used some rather sensitive technology that would look for any internal injuries. What the devices found was a couple of fractured ribs, a torn ligament and lacerations where there shouldn't be unless he had been raped. Nothing else I can think of would cause that kind of damage, and there was other evidence to verify that conclusion." 

Takeru could only stare in absolute shock as the Tamer's words registered in his mind. Who would possibly... out here... why? Well, it did explain Ken's recent behavior. But... but... who could do something that evil to someone so young? He stared blankly at his partner while his mind raced. While he was certain the other kids might be worrying about them by now, he figured it wouldn't be a good idea to let them in on where he and Ken were. Not while Ken was still hurt and likely to hate him for letting others see Ken like that. And after what he learned, he very much doubted the raven-haired boy wanted to see anyone for a very long time. 

"I... I'm going to camp out in his room again tonight just in case he needs anything," Takeru whispered as he moved to rise from the chair. Patamon fluttered out of the way only to resume his usual position on Takeru's head. 

With a grunt of disgust at himself, the Tamer settled the sake bottle on the coffee table and pinned the boy under a sharp gaze. "If he looks to be suffering from a nightmare, let me know before you wake him. There's something out there that did this to him, and I think it may still be around." 

All Takeru could offer was a curious stare as the Tamer rose and retreated to another room. Far too many mysteries abound for his tastes. 

.~*~. 

The stench of blood was almost overpowering, it rotted in the sultry climate and permeated every object within the city's limits. In the distance there sounded the beat of a ceremonial drum accompanied by flutes and rattles, and every now and then the brown people draped in loincloths or skirts would look at him in curiosity and grin before dancing away. Most of them wore anklets and bracelets decorated with bells and bits of shells that rattled with each motion; and when some of them smiled, their teeth flashed with unnatural color due to the gemstones embedded in them. If it wasn't for the coppery stink of blood, he would almost have enjoyed what looked like a celebration. 

And if it wasn't for the warriors guiding him to the temple, he would have followed his first instinct and fled. Oh, there was no doubt in his mind of the occupations of the men with black body paint and fearsome jaguar masks, who carried at their side the wooden swords rimmed with obsidian shards that were so unique to their culture. A rather unpleasant conclusion finally presented itself when he saw his reflection in a nobleman's texcacuitlapilli. Blue paint had been slathered on his body, which was clothed only in a simply embroidered loincloth and feathered cloak. So he was to be the last sacrifice of the season, but why? This wasn't his place, these weren't his people. 

The entourage entered the temple's courtyard at last, leading him up to the altar. The warriors forced him to kneel before a ruler whose back was turned to him and was talking to a priest who wore a suit of skin that had been peeled from another human sacrifice. The priest noticed his attention and gave a jade-toothed grin that clashed sharply against brown eyes and auburn hair... His hand darted to cover his mouth in an attempt to hold back the rising bile as he recognized Daisuke clothed in the skin of Ryo. No, it couldn't be Daisuke, but- 

One of the warriors pulled a mask off for a brief moment, and he experienced a sinking sense of dismay as he recognized Iori. Feeling horribly ill, his eyes darted around only to see Miyako and Hikari among the dancing temple maidens, and Takeru who was so fixated on playing the flute that the blond couldn't have been paying attention to anything other than the music. Among the bodies of those already sacrificed he recognized Osamu and Kageko, along with his parents and Wormmon's empty carapace. It had to be a nightmare, but it was just too real. Nightmares just weren't this vivid. 

The ruler finally turned, splendidly draped in gold and jade and a feathered gold crown. Paint the color of blood had been brushed on in elaborate designs, and the ruler wore a cape that sported iridescent black and red feathers. The ruler's canine teeth had been filed to sharp points, but he recognized his doppelganger far too well. The Kaiser smiled pleasantly as he stepped away from the chacmool and motioned for the four warriors to drag him onto the sacrificial altar. 

"You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you," the Kaiser queried as the warriors laid him out on the chacmool's offering plate. His doppelganger ran bloodied fingers through his hair in an almost affectionate gesture before moving away. "I'll always haunt you, of that you can be certain." 

Daisuke stepped forward with a stone knife in hand, wearing the determined look in his face that he sported every now and then. The boy stopped, however, when the Kaiser placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and plucked the knife away. Obediently, Daisuke said nothing and stepped back to observe. Now armed with the sacrificial knife, the Kaiser struck with a downwards blow. It plowed through skin and cracked ribs apart to leave an opening large enough for a hand to reach into. With a sadistic grin, the Kaiser plunged his free hand into the opening and ripped out the still-beating heart. The Kaiser held his heart up high for all to see, eliciting from the crowds a lusty cheer that was inhuman in its volume and tone. 

.~*~. 

Takeru jumped when he heard a scream coming from the general direction of Ken's bed. He was on the bed and shaking the raven-haired boy awake within seconds, not relenting until he felt Ken grasping his arms in a gesture to stop. He would have woken Ken up much sooner, but Akiyama needed time to gather whatever information was necessary to track down the codewalker. Takeru had no real idea what the device Akiyama used or what it did, all he cared about was getting back at whatever did this to his friend. When Ken began to shudder, Takeru pulled the boy into his arms and stroked his friend's hair reassuringly, all the while gazing sternly at the figure of an old man that looked to be typing something out on a laptop. 

Gennai, as Akiyama prefered to be called in his old geezer form, only granted him a slight nod. "I caught the tail end of an electrical signature, but the codewalker fled when you woke him up. It's just enough for me to know what to look for, however." 

Satisfied with the answer if just for the moment, Takeru returned his attention to the boy quaking in his arms, unaware when 'Gennai' picked up the computer and left the room. 

When he was certain he wouldn't be discovered, Ryo deactivated the shell program and went outside to gaze up at the stars. He hated this, hated having to use his only real friend as bait to catch the codewalker. Hated himself for being unable to figure out another way to pull off the hunt. And sooner or later Ken was going to figure out who he was under the shell program, then what? 

Before his thoughts could go any further, a bundle of purple and white fur barreled into his chest and nearly knocked him backwards. Picking up the little virus-type digimon, the Tamer pulled it out at arm's length and looked at it critically. The creature only gave him an innocent grin, an effect that was ruined by the mischief in its golden eyes. 

"Been keeping an eye on Black Wargreymon," Ryo asked of the creature that squirmed out of his grasp and fluttered lazily before him. This had been one of the few digimon he trained that had yet to bond to any Chosen Child or developed into any considerable trouble as most viruses did. Savali, as the tsukaimon liked to be called, seemed to be somewhat loyal to him... when it suited the virus's needs. 

"We've had to move the last Holy Stone again, he was getting too close," the tsukaimon quipped, a vague look of consternation crossing its face at the seriousness of the news. "It's only a matter of time before he finds it." 

"I know," Ryo sighed at that particularly daunting prospect as Savali flew up to perch on a branch in a nearby tree. Savali, like Kageko's digimon Libra, detested the fact that all digimon ended up with 'mon' tacked on the ends of their names and had chosen to take another in protest. "Ken's healing fast, although I don't think I can say the same about his psychological wounds. But at least Takeru's there for him, which is more than I can say about myself." 

Savali cocked his head and folded his wings back against his body. He had heard of Ryo's past, from what little the Tamer would tell him, and he knew better than to accept Ryo's whining. "Stop talking like that. You've done all you could within your limits. And I really suggest telling him soon before he finds out on his own." 

Trust the tsukaimon to smack him out of his moods, either physically or verbally. "That's probably the wisest path. Planning to stay out here tonight?" 

"Not if that was an invitation for free food and lodging," the little digimon crowed, expanding his wings before diving into Ryo's arms. He grinned cutely at the Tamer. "I promise to behave." 

"Yeah, right," Ryo muttered... Savali behaving like a good little digimon for more than a few minutes was unheard of. He smiled slightly as the ball of fluff curled up in his arms. Well, at least he had someone on his side and someone to cheer him up a little before he had to prepare for the morning's hunt. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Ajora: Apologies for the one term that doesn't really have an exact translation. A texcacuitlapilli is a polished hematite mirror tied to the back of a nobleman's belt, often believed by archaeologists to be used merely for decorative purposes. However, there are certain tribes in North America that wear similar ornaments for ceremonial attire. 


	4. Tablet IV - Scars

Phantom Codewalker  
Tablet IV - Scars  
by Ajora Fravashi  


*Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon. Toei/Bandai does. If I did own Digimon, Ryo would be a major character in the TV series instead of only landing a grand total of ten seconds of screen time within the frame of two episodes and a movie. 

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A ball of purple and white fur cracked open an eye at the vigorous typing that had so rudely roused him from sleep, relatively annoyed but not so much that he was going to fly off in a huff. "Whatcha doing, Tamer? Isn't it a bit early to work?" 

"Strengthening the cloaking perimeter," Akiyama stated in a somewhat distracted voice as he continued typing. "Motomiya's desperate and getting closer than I like. Besides, the perimeter also acts as an inverted firewall and it'll keep the codewalker from escaping." 

Savali the tsukaimon snickered maliciously at the marginal disgust in Ryo's voice as he fluttered over to glance at the screen. "Say anything you want, but you hate him don't you?" 

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the Tamer growled in annoyance at the virus digimon that had decided to perch on his head to get a better look at the monitor. Oh, he knew what the creature meant, but damned if he was going to let Savali trap him. 

Cackling, the tsukaimon raked his claws through Ryo's hair in amusement. "Oh, you have reason enough to hate him. After all, he did steal your digimon and Jogress partner. Wait, I forget, V-mon never really bonded to you did he? And oh, how could Motomiya possibly steal something already abandoned?" 

Ryo swatted at the tsukaimon on his head, dislodging Savali and sending the creature fluttering over to perch on the monitor. Savali practically purred at him, golden eyes glittering in satisfaction. "Don't you have anything better to do than pester me?" 

"No, not at all. Besides, you did say you wanted me to help in the hunt, did you not?" 

"Pestering me is not considered help. Go dig up something to eat and let me finish this up." One of the few certainties Ryo learned when dealing with most digimon of Savali's level: when all else fails, appeal to a digimon's stomach. As expected, the tsukaimon took his hint and flew into the kitchen with it. 

With the distraction gone, Akiyama Ryo opened up the overwriting application and began to input the codewalker's signature into the identification fields. He had no doubts that it would work, all he needed was to lure the codewalker into a sense of security long enough to overwrite and reconfigure it to a low-powered digimon. It wasn't even his idea, really. Osamu was a true genius, and would have been an invaluable resource if he had the power back then to bring the boy into the Digital World. He had entrusted the elder of the Ichijouji brothers with information about this world before even knowing about Ken's existence and Osamu jumped at the chance to flaunt the abilities that made people bow at the boy's feet. 

Oh, Osamu hated the fact that he couldn't enter the world his programs aided, however. He had been deeply offended when the digivice was sent to his brother instead, and kept the thing away from Ken with the excuse that the Digital World was far too dangerous a place for his precious little brother. Ryo was certain that this action was more out of jealousy than anything else. 

He did miss Osamu, however. Of course, Osamu would have raked him over coals for taking his eyes off the boy's brother long enough for Ken to get hurt, then gone codewalker hunting with a bloodthirsty zeal that Osamu was infamous for in online gaming circles. Kageko probably wouldn't be all that far behind, for she had been almost as protective of Ken as Osamu was. 

Ryo allowed himself a break to raise his coffee mug to the screen that displayed Osamu's program. "To the dearly departed who would kick my pathetic ass for letting things go so badly." 

.~*~. 

He thought he had gotten rid of it, thought he had killed it when he destroyed its source code in the ziggurat. To be honest, he didn't think this of all things would happen. He really should have known better. This was the Digital World, after all, and every scrap of data ended up being recycled. Ryo taught him this years ago, yet why was he so surprised when Wormmon had been reborn or that the Kaiser turned into what Ryo liked to call a codewalker? Was it because he didn't want to remember? 

This room was so familiar, but he couldn't quite remember why. Why were there so many holes in his memory? He had been here before, when he was much younger, although exactly when and why he couldn't quite recall. The last time he had been in this room, wasn't he ill with something or another? 

Ah, yes. The last time he was here, he could remember talking to Ryo about something online, then Ryo disappeared, he couldn't remember how or why. Everyone he cared about always ended up leaving him. Really, why had he been so willing to accept Daisuke's friendship? Because it was a pathetic attempt to see his only friend in someone, and who could be better than the boy who inherited the digimon that was once Ryo's partner? Would Daisuke end up walking out of his life too? 

The Child of Kindness sighed as he closed the book he wasn't quite paying attention to and glanced across the room at the blond who was currently scribbling away at his desk. It was odd, he never thought Takeru cared much about anything beyond Patamon, Hikari, and that high and mighty code of honor the blond seemed to have... but Takeru was the one who rescued him from certain death, who had bandaged his wounds and did anything he asked to make him feel better. For the life of him, Ken couldn't figure out why. 

"Hey there, feeling better?" 

Ken blinked at the question, unaware that he had slipped into his own little world and his vision became unfocused because of it. "Somewhat, although I have to say that the speed at which I'm healing is much too unnatural." He lifted the hand that once sported a cast and flexed his little finger in demonstration. "This ligament should have taken weeks just to heal even with surgery, and then I should be experiencing some stiffness. But it's like nothing ever happened." 

Takeru offered a slight smile at that. Ken seemed to be capable of sitting without discomfort now too, though he knew better than to ask for verification. "Yeah, Gennai said it would be like that. I don't exactly know what he did, but it's not like he'd tell me anyway." 

A pause followed soon afterwards, leaving the boys simply gazing at each other and attempting to find something new to talk about. Conversation had never been a strong point between them, due mostly to other factors getting in the way. Finally, Ken asked the thing that had been bothering him for awhile. 

"Why did you save me? Why do you stay with me even though you have better things to do?" 

All Takeru could really offer was a shrug since he hadn't really thought about it. "Because I wanted to? To be honest, I don't know. You were almost dead when I found you, and I couldn't bear the thought of losing someone I like to think of as a friend. And as for sticking around, I figured I should make myself useful for once." 

"What makes you think you were ever useless," Ken asked, somewhat surprised at the depressed look that had briefly crossed Takeru's face before it was covered up. There seemed to be more to the blond than he originally thought. 

"You... you aren't the only one to have lost a digimon partner," Takeru got out after much difficulty, wishing Patamon hadn't gone off in search of food earlier as he was tempted to hug the little digimon and not let go for a very long time. "I could do nothing to save Angemon, but I had a chance to save you. It was a gamble, but..." the Child of Hope paused to look up at Ken, the tiniest of smiles quirking at his lips as he did so. "I'm glad I did it." 

The raven-haired boy set his book aside as he freed up his hands to hug his knees close. That much he could understand, at least, but while he was the Kaiser he couldn't remember ever having heard of an Angemon being destroyed anywhere at any time during his reign. "When was he killed?" 

"A long time ago," Takeru muttered as he tapped his pencil against the desk in discomfort. He had never really talked about Angemon's death to anyone, never felt the need to bring up something so painful. But it was conversation, at least. "I was eight or so then, I think. God, I felt so helpless during that battle." 

Ken gave a wince of sympathy at that. Oh, he knew about grief alright, knew all too well what damage that kind of loss at that age could do to someone. "I... lost my brother around that age." 

A short pause followed, leaving the boys to gaze at each other in a new light. Then, as if triggered by the recent discovery of mutual beginnings, new conversation arose. Stories of being the youngest members in a group and watched over by older kids with big brother complexes were exchanged, tales told of long nights spent in the Digital World being left out of discussions the older kids had that they were certain the younger kids wouldn't understand. Recollections of seemingly hopeless battles and mixed emotions those battles brought forth were spoken. 

In the midst of Takeru's recounting of the battle with Pinocchimon, Ken sighed and leaned back against the headboard. Never did he think he would find someone who went through so many of the same things he did, someone who seemed to like him as a friend and understand him without even asking anything. It was nice to know that he wasn't alone. And, curiously enough, he wasn't all that uncomfortable when Takeru sat beside him on the bed. 

Somewhere during one of the tales exchanged, a purple and white version of Patamon burst through the door, drawing the boys' attention for a brief second before the tsukaimon exhaled a purple fog that soon had them pass out. 

Akiyama Ryo entered the room soon after the fog dissipated, frowning slightly at the tsukaimon that was making itself comfortable on the foot of the bed. "Did you _have_ to target both of them?" 

"Not my fault they were practically cuddling when I barged in," Savali smirked, delighting in the rise he was getting out of the Tamer. Ryo was really far too easy to needle. "Oh yes, they were talking for hours. Isn't it nice that darling Ken has someone to relate to at last? You should be happy, Tamer, since _you_ certainly never made an attempt. After all, why do today what you can do tomorrow? I'm afraid it's a little too late for you to redeem yourself, isn't it?" 

Refusing to answer the tsukaimon as it would be exactly what Savali wanted, the Tamer settled on the desk chair and opened up the his laptop computer. Now the hunt was on. 

.~*~. 

There was darkness all around him, no light anywhere to relieve him of his stark black surroundings. It was disorienting, he couldn't tell if he was suspended midair or submerged in liquid. None of his senses would register in his mind, and he hated it. He hated darkness, hated feeling so helpless. And more than anything, he hated being alone. 

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, all discarded before they could come to fruition. Nothing he could think of would get him out of this, and the situation was becoming increasingly distressing. Why was he here anyway? All he could remember was talking with Ken and passing out when that strange purple digimon flooded the room with equally purple fog. That fog probably triggered this dream and he was going to wake up soon enough. 

Takeru took comfort in that thought even as his senses returned to him one by one. The air was temperate and still, it was so dry that his lips soon became chapped with the lack of moisture. The darkness lifted to unveil grounds that once supported life but had been salted so that nothing would ever grow from it again, and in the place of living things was death. There were forests of wooden stakes that impaled humans and digimon alike, and at the head of this death forest was a crucifix with a certain very familiar figure nailed to it. After fighting down the urge to throw up at both the vision and the fetid stench of death that was now carried by languid winds, Takeru stepped closer to get a better look at the crucified angel. 

It was Angemon, of that he had no doubts. Hair that was once golden was now tarnished to a dull brown, and a couple of wings that were ripped from their sockets now laid at the base of the cross in a dirty pile of feathers and blood. The helmet had been discarded to expose the angel's face, but in the place of one clear blue eye was a gaping hole. A flood of despair washed over the Child of Hope at the sight. Who could... Why... How...? 

As if to answer his unvoiced questions, a human figure draped in black strode forth. It was definitely human yet it sported huge, leathery black wings that had holes ripped in several places. The person's body was sheathed in tight leather clothing, with gloves tipped by metal claws and an all too familiar red bat emblazoned on its chest. The figure ignored his presence completely as it strode towards the angel with a lance in hand. Somehow in the light of a dark sun the figure's hair appeared a striking blue, and the wild style in which that blue hair was presented offered Takeru a horrifying conclusion. 

It was the Digimon Kaiser dressed in attire that mimicked Devimon's appearance. Even the middle finger of the right glove had been painted red and brown bandages were wrapped around the Kaiser's forearms. He was so paralyzed by terror that he could do nothing as he watched the Kaiser plunge the Lance of Longinus through Angemon's side. The entry was diagonal and pointed upwards in such a way that it would have penetrated Angemon's heart, and once the lance was yanked out the angel disintegrated into dust that floated off in the wind. 

This time there were no feathers floating down to the ground, this time there was no egg materializing before him. As the Kaiser stalked off with a lance that still dripped blood Takeru raced towards the crucifix, hoping against all odds that it was just a dream, that the wooden cross would disappear when touched. But the solidity of it, the way a splinter worked its way into his finger as he touched the place of his digimon's death, the pain that splinter shot into his nerves... it was far too real. No nightmare he ever had was this vivid. 

Takeru sank to the salt-encrusted ground and hugged his knees close. This was wrong... very wrong. Closing his eyes against the visions of death, the Child of Hope tried to think despite his need to cry. No one was here to comfort him, and he'd have to figure a way out of here on his own. 

Ken wasn't the Kaiser anymore, and was likely never to go back again. They had been sitting together and talking until that strange digimon came, and then this happened. Did the fog the creature exhaled have some hallucinogenic qualities? Was the good Ken he liked to think of as a friend out here too? Akiyama said that there was something haunting Ken, that had caused the wounds the raven-haired boy carried. Was that incarnation of the Kaiser the codewalker Akiyama mentioned? If so, how was that possible? 

Wait, he remembered something Taichi was talking about long ago. Sora had been cloned by some evil digimon or another, he couldn't quite recall which. But cloning was a very real possibility in the Digital World. Maybe this was a clone? But why, and why was it a codewalker? Didn't those come into being when a human was killed in this world? If so, then what happened at the ziggurat made sense at last. Everything was falling into place. 

The forest of wooden stakes and corpses melted away when Takeru opened his eyes again, leaving only the monochromatic salted plains and overcast skies. Takeru rose from where he was sitting and took a good look around. Everything was the same: grey, featureless, lifeless. Why he walked in the direction he did, he wasn't sure but it seemed as good an option as anything else. 

It seemed like he wandered forever before he found something that stood up sharp and proud against the landscape. It was the same white lance used to kill Angemon, and with resolve set in his face he yanked it from the ground. He was going to find Ken, hopefully before the codewalker got to the boy. How, Takeru didn't know, but nothing got in his way when he set his mind on something. 

Takeru resumed his wandering despite the hopelessness of the situation he was in. Once again it seemed as if he was wandering for an eternity before he paused to look at the lance in his hand that still dripped with blood. Damned if he knew why it was doing that, but he didn't particularly care at this moment. An idea formed in his mind, something about how he had found the lance, and he acted upon it. 

Light from an unidentifiable source seemed to glint off of the lance's polished shaft as he lifted it high in the air with the bleeding point aimed downwards, intensifying when he struck the lance into the ground and the dead grey world shattered like glass around him. In its place was darkness once again, but this time the darkness was relieved in places by flickering torches situated on the corridor walls every two meters. The lance was still in his hand, and he gripped it tighter just in case something unpleasant was going to show up. 

He passed empty rooms, many of which had frescos, murals, and bas reliefs depicting battle scenes. Scrawled on the walls were codes that looked to be somewhat familiar, but he wasn't concerned with that. There was all the time in the world to think about it after he found Ken and would leave this nightmare world. Takeru wasn't quite sure where he should be going, but the corridors at least offered better options than the dead grey world he left. Thankfully, he could hear something fall close by. 

The sound led him to a chamber that was bigger than the others and better lit. It took but a moment for his mind to register just what was going on. Oh, the Kaiser's back was to him and the wings obscured his view, but he did notice the figure struggling futilely in the Kaiser's arms and it was just enough to trigger his actions. Takeru pressed the bleeding point of the holy lance against the base of the Kaiser's skull. "Step away from him. Now." 

A growl rose from the Kaiser's throat at the unwelcome intrusion. He was certain Takaishi wouldn't have figured out a way out of the hell of his making, or into here for that matter. That the blond had the gall to interrupt him while he was forcing himself on Ken was also somewhat surprising. However, he could turn this around to his advantage just by teleporting behind Takaishi and knocking that lance from the boy's hands. 

It was a simple process in the Digital World, really, so simple that he was surprised how few creatures used it. Just imagine where you wanted to be, focus solely on that image, and you were there. But there was something infringing on this ability which the Kaiser couldn't quite pinpoint, and it was becoming quite infuriating. Then, somehow, it seemed as if an invisible wall of fire was trapping him in place and was quickly closing in on him. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't figure out what was happening to him. 

Then, as quickly as he had come into being, the codewalker simply deconstructed and vanished. 

Takeru stared at where the Kaiser had been standing, wondering what had just happened. From the point when he had pressed the lance's point to the Kaiser's skull to when the codewalker simply disappeared, only the span of a minute passed. Oh, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him when the image of the Kaiser seemed to flicker briefly, but that was quite unexpected. Shifting his gaze to the boy who was staring back at him in astonishment, the blond sighed and lowered his lance before extending a hand to help Ken up. 

Ken hesitated a moment before taking the offered hand and allowing Takeru to pull him up from the altar his doppelganger had pressed him against before... no, he wasn't going to think about it. Not anymore. He was tired and didn't want to deal with what was done to him ever again. 

Frowning slightly as Ken flinched at his touch when he reached out to brush away a lock of hair that was shielding the boy's face, Takeru withdrew his hand to pull his lance into an upright position. For some reason holding the holy lance was rather comforting at the moment. In an attempt to process this all Takeru cocked his head as he watched his friend shrug on the remains of a shirt that had been ripped and tossed aside. "You do know you can talk to me about anything, right?" 

"I know. I'll explain everything later," Ken whispered as he stepped slowly towards the room's exit, his pace due more to his thoughts than anything else. Really, why had Takeru come out here and rescue him? What happened to make his doppelganger disappear like that? It was something to ponder. 

No more words were exchanged between the two as they left the complex both Ken's psyche and the Kaiser's manipulations had constructed and returned to the waking world. 

.~*~. 

Such a simple little thing it was, and easily breakable when one thought along such lines. The digital egg that now occupied the Tamer's lap was simply grey in tone with splatters of black that were few and far between. What exactly it would hatch into, Ryo really didn't know, but all he could be certain of that its evolutionary path would be that of a low-powered virus. It would retain no memories of what it had been or of its purpose when it was the codewalker, Osamu's program made the wipe complete. 

With a quick command to Savali, the tsukaimon took the egg from his hands and flew off to relocate it to the place where all viruses inevitably were hatched. Now he was alone to handle what was certain to be an inflammatory reunion. Lovely. And even better yet, the boys were awakening now. 

Ken was the first to sit up from where he had been laid out, his eyes instantly falling upon a figure that was far too familiar. His body stiffened as the person's very presence elicited from him a flood of emotions he fought to hold back. The feelings of abandonment, anger, depression, so many others that he couldn't name, they all presented themselves at once. But the reminder of Takeru's presence rose above those emotions and Takeru definitely didn't need to see this. 

Ryo sighed to himself as he allowed the boy to jerk him up from his seat and drag him out of the room. After all, he certainly deserved everything his former Jogress partner would throw at him. Once they were in the solitude of the study, Ken stepped away and glared at Ryo. 

"Why did you leave me when I needed you," the raven-haired boy started as he watched the Tamer settle into a chair. Ryo had never been very hard to read, but that had been back before the Tamer left him. Now he couldn't tell what his former friend was feeling or thinking at all and it was somewhat disconcerting. In what might have been an attempt to escape his heated glare, the Tamer looked away and brushed back a lock of hair that escaped the spikes. 

"I didn't exactly have a choice." 

"Oh really? I suppose your job and status as the last of your kind were far more important for you to concern yourself than with someone like me." 

Ryo flinched at the particularly sharp words Ken threw into his face. Savali was right, he had no chance to redeem himself to his only friend and Jogress partner. Well, he'd just give Ken what answers he was allowed to bestow before letting the boy walk out of his life. "I don't suppose you remember what happened after we battled Milleniumon, nor am I allowed to explain in length. But afterwards you became so ill that all of us were emotional wrecks. I had to sell my own freedom in exchange for the power to heal you. They wouldn't let me go back with you to Earth, they insisted I sever all my emotional ties and concentrate on the tasks they required me to undertake. Do you have any idea what it's like being told that you couldn't go back home and couldn't be with people you care about?" 

"Who are 'They', Akiyama, and why would 'They' have any power over your life," Ken queried as he folded his arms across his chest. He really didn't like this situation, nor did he like the forces that drew them far enough apart that he was here now trying to find justification for being abandoned and turning into what he did. Trying to find something or someone else to blame for his fall from grace. 

"There are powers far stronger than anyone could guess at work in the Digital World," was Ryo's reply. He never did like talking about the Holy Beasts, and was certain there was some law or another out there that said he couldn't speak of them anyway. "They're the ones I went to when I was desperate and afraid of losing you. I'm not really allowed to talk much about it." 

The silence that fell between them was uncomfortable in its intensity. Sighing as the strength of his emotions managed to taper off, Ken leaned against one of the bookshelves. The knowledge that someone who was once as free as Ryo was now sworn to serve higher powers weighed heavily on him. Despite the job the Tamer performed, Ryo had been free of such bonds, and now... 

"The phantom that had been haunting you, it's been neutralized and won't hurt you ever again," the young man offered at last, hoping it would at least loosen the tensions between them. Unfortunately, Ken seemed to freeze at the very mention of the codewalker. "When all this is over, I'll tell you everything you want to know," Ryo smiled slightly in what he assumed was a reassuring gesture as he rose from his chair to deactivate the summons light that began blinking the moment he brought up the subject of the codewalker. He never did like the Holy Beasts' sense of timing either. 

"I'm being summoned again," Ryo muttered dourly as he strode up to the doorway. "I'm sure you can recall or figure out where everything is, so feel free to take anything you need." 

Ken simply nodded as he watched his first Jogress partner shrug on a robe over the khakis and turtleneck that was once Ryo's standard attire. Ryo had cared enough about him to give up the freedom that the Tamer considered as precious as life itself, he couldn't hate his friend after learning that. But there seemed to be something missing out of all this. 

"Ryo, wait..." 

The Tamer turned back to look at him in curiosity. "Yes, Ken?" 

"I'll come visit sometime," Ken smiled as a grin of relief flashed over the Tamer's features. "If you're willing to have me over." 

"Of course." 

Perfect. 

.~*~. 

Takeru attempted to curl up into a tighter ball despite Patamon's pawing at him in an attempt to get him to wake up. Taking care of Ken during the raven-haired boy's recovery had been tiring and ended up drawing more hours from his usual sleep schedule than he was used to dealing with. Right now he at least had the time to make up for that. 

Unfortunately, Patamon wasn't going to allow him that for the moment. The little digimon continued pawing at his human partner until Takeru sat up in bed and mock-glowered at him. 

With a yawn the boy stretched, and in doing so he noticed the little metal thing that was clenched in the same hand he held a holy lance in during that horrifying nightmare. Surprise rose in Takeru's face when he realized that he was holding a genuine tag in his hand that was much like the ones he and his group had in their first endeavors in the Digital World. It hadn't been there when he first passed out. 

Patamon noticed his partner's questioning look and practically beamed. "The Tamer said it was needed to find Ken in the dream world, and since you were unconscious too he needed you to point him to the codewalker. So he gave that to you hoping it would act as a divining rod or something. And-" the little digimon wheezed a little before taking another breath and continuing. "He said that if you pointed the dream world embodiment of that at the codewalker, he could set his trap and reconfigure it. The walker thing, I mean." 

So that's what the lance really was, and why the Kaiser seemed to just disappear. It made some sense, at least. "So this is Ken's?" 

The little digimon nodded vigorously. "Yeah! The Tamer said to give it to Ken when you wake up. Oh! And there's no bloodstains on your hat anymore!" Patamon's voice then quieted a bit as he stared disapprovingly at something on the dresser. "It's over there if you still want it." 

Shaking his finger before his partner's face, Takeru reached out to grab the fisher's hat and throw it on. "We do not mock the hat." 

Shortly after having straightened out the room a bit, Takeru wandered out into the living room with a Patamon firmly planted on the top of his head. Ken was standing before the framed photos on the mantleplace and was dressed in a Tamachi school uniform that looked like it had never been ripped. There seemed to be a look of sadness as Ken's eyes lingered on the images of a far more innocent childhood. 

"Say Ken, ready to go," the blond asked hesitantly, slightly relieved when the sadness seemed to disappear. "We have one last Holy Stone to protect, and Daisuke's probably besides himself right now trying to find you." 

Ken nodded before moving to pick up one of the framed images. It was a small one, really, but it meant much more to him than its size would indicate. Set against a background of a wildflower field was a girl with white hair sitting next to a teenaged boy who was grinning at the camera. In the safety of this boy's embrace was another boy that was much younger, who glanced over at the girl in a lazy manner that suggested that he would much rather take a nap. 

It was something taken on his birthday, Ken recalled as he took it out of its frame and slipped it into the inner pocket of his uniform jacket. Ryo wouldn't mind, and it was from one of the few happy days he had in his life. With a silent farewell to his innocence, the boy strode out of the cottage with his friend in tow. 

Hidden in the tree branches that loomed over the cottage was a pair of glittering yellow eyes set in a body that could best be described as a ball of purple and white fur. The tsukaimon watched the boys progress down the river, thinking to himself as he did so. 

Well, things certainly turned out much better than he anticipated. 

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Ajora: The Lance of Longinus was the lance that a Roman centurion used to poke at Jesus during the crucifixion to prove that the guy was indeed dead, although in certain variations it's said that Jesus asked the centurion to put him out of his misery. Regardless, it is said that whoever possessed the spear and understood its powers for serving good and evil could conquer the world, though anyone who dropped it would die soon afterwards. The spear is also known alternatively as the Holy Lance or Bleeding Lance. 


	5. Epilogue

Epilogue  
by Ajora Fravashi  


*Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon. Toei/Bandai does. This is probably a good thing. 

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It seemed to be his lot in life: to gain, to lose, to deal with it to the best he knew how. In a way his relationship with his former Jogress partner was still in question, as Ken hadn't come to see him at all save for the few encounters during the globetrotting fiasco and then after the battle with BelialVandemon. He couldn't blame the boy, really. After all, he had never once dropped any mention of the Dark Seed or of its effects. In a way all he could claim to have was power he never wanted and the dubious companionship of a capricious virus digimon whose hobby it was to play with his head and make his life hell. 

Halfway up the path to his cottage, Ryo pulled out the tag that encircled his neck and was hidden under his robes. Crest of Loyalty. Ha. Like he ever did anything in his life to deserve it. It was a stylized shield with a triangle placed on either side, colored a light, almost whitish, gold. What color had Kageko's crest been? He couldn't quite remember. 

The Tamer gazed up into the sky with a wistful expression. All the people dear to him were gone, and the one that was still around probably couldn't care less that he existed. It hurt more than he would let on, but it seemed that Savali of all the digimon he had trained was actually sympathetic of his plight and let go of needling him for awhile to offer some comfort. 

As if the little virus heard his thoughts, Savali fluttered up to him and settled into his arms. It was odd, even when the Digital World opened up to the children of Earth after the defeat of BelialVandemon and previously unbonded digimon found human partners, Savali still had yet to bond to anyone. When asked about it on the rare occasions that Savali wasn't being a thorn in his side, the tsukaimon only answered that a virus didn't need to bond to a weak little human. Human kids were just too goody-goody for Savali's tastes. On the other hand, pestering a liar/thief/whatever else Savali could call him at the moment provided the tsukaimon with much more amusement. 

"He's here," Savali murmured as he made himself comfortable in the Tamer's arms. He was being unusually nice to Ryo lately, a fact that nagged at the back of his mind despite his efforts to dismiss it as nothing more than sympathy. Rather annoyed with his own pathetic behaviour, Savali fluttered off once again in pursuit of something malicious to do. 

Ryo sighed to himself as he continued up the path to his cottage. Ken was probably going to raze him for not saying anything about the Dark Seed... among other things. Oh, how he wished for things to return to the way they had been, when it was just the three of them and their respective digimon partners living out in this isolated part of the Digital World, with the only worries they had were the occasional battles they were expected to undertake. So many things had gone so wrong that he wondered if there was some greater being out there that absolutely loved to make his existence miserable. Well, some greater being that wasn't any of the Holy Beasts, anyway. 

Once he entered his home, he noticed the flicker of a living flame crackling in the fireplace. The last time the fireplace had been used was so long ago that he thought Ken would have forgotten about it. 

"Do you remember the last time we were all here, sitting before this fireplace," Ken's voice rose softly from one of the large cushioned chairs set before the hearth. The Tamer took to his own seat and looked over to the boy who seemed to be focused solely on the dancing flames, silently longing as he always had for the innocent past. "It was after our last big battle together. Kage-chan and Libra were curled up together in their chair, I don't recall what they were doing however. Chicomon and Leafmon were already asleep, and we were just talking about simple things that seemed so important back then." 

"The virtues and problems with dungeon crawling and button-mashing in videogames, wasn't it," Ryo asked as he closed his eyes and made himself comfortable in his own overstuffed chair. This kind of peace was something he hadn't enjoyed in a long time, and he hoped it would continue for at least a little while longer. 

"Perhaps," the boy replied tonelessly as he watched the flames dance upon their logs. Since a lot of his memory had returned, something was bothering him and he needed what answers he could glean from his first Jogress partner. "Ryo? What happened to Kageko?" 

A grimace crossed Ryo's features at the question. Finding out the truth behind Kageko's death had been bad enough for him, and he never was attached to Kageko at the level Ken had been. "She died. There's not much beyond that." 

"You know, I remember bits and pieces of what happened the last days we had together. Kageko battled Milleniumon with us, didn't she? I have faint memories of those seeds floating around, and watching her fall as one of those seeds hit her somewhere. Then I saw one heading for you and knocked you out of the way. I think it was then that a Dark Seed hit me too." 

"You fell ill for several weeks afterwards, we couldn't tell why you were having such an adverse reaction when Kageko recovered after the first week," the Tamer offered despite his dislike of the subject at hand. He really should have known better than to expect things to go smoothly. 

Ken pulled his knees close in a defensive position as he fought to recall memories that were probably affected by his delirium at the time. Kageko leaning over him and replacing the warm washcloth on his forehead with one that had been drenched in cold water and wrung out. Her whispered reassurances that she was going to return soon and bring some candy and new games for him from Earth. "She said she was going to come back." 

A tense silence fell between the two afterwards. The subject of death was always difficult to deal with, especially that of someone close to both of them. But Ken wanted his answers, and Ryo was tired of hiding those answers in the dark. "Do you know why we know that the removal of a true Dark Seed from its host would kill someone?" 

Ryo winced internally as he saw Ken whip around to face him fully, shock settling into the boy's face. "My task for the past two years had been to wipe all the data the governments of Earth had of the Digital World. I stumbled upon several reports about a girl with a Dark Seed who had been operated upon. Their attempts to remove the seed had ended in failure, and Kageko was later found with her neck mauled in a posthumous effort to remove the Dark Seed. The newspapers were bribed to list her cause of death as a simple car accident." 

The boy sank back into his chair, stunned. Kageko was always so nice to him, she didn't deserve such a death. But then, nothing was ever fair in either Earth or the Digital World, and that lesson had certainly been beaten into him more times than he dared to recall. "And Libra?" 

"Quite insane, I imagine, although I haven't seen her since she ran off so long ago," Ryo muttered as he drove away his own memories of just how Libra had reacted to her human partner's death. That had been more unpleasant than he cared to remember, and he still had the scars from Libra's claws. 

Silence came again. It wasn't one of those comfortable silences they used to have so long ago, and there probably never would be those comfortable pauses falling between them anymore. This time it was Ken who broke the silence. "The Dark Seed that dwells in me now, I assume it's dormant. Is it likely to reactivate?" 

"It's possible, but then it's also possible that it won't. Don't worry too much about it. You've survived well enough so far, and this time you have the support of a lot more friends than you had back then," the Tamer reassured his friend with a slight smile. "And I do now have more resources at my disposal than I should. Who knows, perhaps I'll eventually find a way to get that thing out of you." 

The shadows of a humorless smirk flashed across Ken's face. "Somehow that isn't very reassuring, but I do appreciate the sentiment." 

Soon the conversation switched to shallower things, of modern videogames versus the Famicon era, of friends and family long gone, of distant days and simpler times. Memories were brought up of Osamu and Ken meeting up with Ryo at the statue of Hachiko in Shibuya and then wandering around for the weekends while the flow of Tokyo's trendsetter district bypassed them completely. 

Eventually, however, Ken had to leave. Once the boy would have hugged Ryo before taking off, but that was long ago. The Tamer sighed in regret as he was left alone in his cottage once again. There was so much he should have told his former Jogress partner and so much that needed explaining. But to be frank, where would he possibly begin? How do you tell your only living friend something that might as well be a death sentence? 

The telltale flapping of wings alerted Ryo to the tsukaimon's return, and soon enough Savali curled up into his lap without invitation. The virus looked to be relatively tired, so perhaps this time he could get away without his daily dose of scathing comments from Savali. 

"You didn't tell him, did you," the tsukaimon queried as he pinned Ryo under a golden-eyed glare. The Tamer's silence was all the answer he needed. "You're a complete idiot, you know." 

"Oh? Would you like to tell him the true purpose of a Dark Seed? Would you like to tell him that the Dark Seeds existed as a way to ensure Milleniumon's resurrection? And on that note, how about telling him that when the seed blooms it will turn into Moon=Milleniumon and probably kill him?" 

Savali's eyes narrowed as he watched a mix of anger and despair rise on the Tamer's face. Really, humans were far too emotional. "It would be better that he's told about it before he finds out on his own and certainly before it's too late. And if you don't have the spine to do it maybe I should let him know instead." 

Ryo frowned at the thought. "No, you'd enjoy it too much. Let's save it for later, shall we?" 

"Of course," Savali smirked at that as he dug his claws into the Tamer's legs. There were certain other things he felt little Ichijouji should know that he was pretty sure Ryo was afraid to admit. Oh, humans were so entertaining. "And I think later I should have a long talk with darling little Ken, don't you think?" 

"You hate me, don't you," the Tamer groused as he reverted his attention to the crackling fire. Well, the tsukaimon was company, at least, and he had always been so lonely without the others around. Funny, he never considered himself much of a social person until he found himself alone. 

After settling into position for a nap whether the Tamer wanted him to or not, Savali closed his eyes before responding. "Not at all. You're just more interesting than other humans. And therefore much more fun to play with." 

"Nice to know I'm keeping you amused," Ryo shot back as he picked up the tsukaimon before rising from his chair. "And inasmuch as I'd like to do my best impersonation of furniture for you, I have a night of research to start on." 

Once Savali squirmed out of his hands, Ryo put out the fire and retreated to the comforting darkness of his study. It was going to be a very long night. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Ajora: Well, this monster is finally over. However, it does have a sequel titled "Götterdämmerung". 


End file.
